Sarasota Memorial’s Comprehensive Rehab Unit offers the only hospital-based rehabilitation services in the area, providing stroke patients access to the greatest breadth and depth of medical and rehabilitative care available in the region.

As patients who have had a stroke may experience difficulty with movement, sensation, vision, eating, language, thinking, and emotional control, a comprehensive rehabilitation approach is necessary.

CRU’s stroke program consists of education, case management, medical management, and individualized therapy and treatment protocols developed to help patients return home and to the daily activities they enjoy.

Our goal is to restore our patients’ functional independence as much as possible and to involve families in setting goals and therapy process. Part of that process includes working with patients (18 years and older) and their families/support system and helping them adjust to the physical, cognitive, behavioral and emotional challenges of their illness or disability so they successfully return to the community.

Communication is key to recovery. We encourage open and frequent communication between family members, patients and their rehabilitation team to ensure we are continually addressing their evolving needs and involving them in discharge planning.

Weekly stroke education meetings help keep patients and family members informed and focused on the signs and symptoms of stroke, medications and rehabilitation therapies to help treat or prevent stroke and lifestyle changes that can help reduce their risk and prevent a second stroke – for example, managing high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, stopping smoking and a adopting a more active lifestyle.

Community stroke survivors are invited to attend monthly stroke support groups to stay informed about stroke prevention and treatment and address issues that may come up after their hospital stay.

Numbers at a Glance

We care for more than 650 patients annually on the CRU unit – approximately 151 are people recovering from stroke.

Our patients’ average age is 76. We treat slightly more men (53%) than women (47%).

Our average length of stay for patients recovering from stroke is 13 days.

Approximately 95 percent of our patients express overall satisfaction with their rehabilitation program.